Gossip Girl and I

Long gone are the days when we used to watch Sex and The City for the latest fashion trends. Now we have four younger girls to aspire from - Blair Waldorf, Serena Van der Woodsen, Vanessa Abrams and Jenny Humphrey. From shift dresses to hot pants, each girl has their own individual look, even down to their school uniforms.

Coloured tights have been splashed across the screens since season 1; but they are especially a trend this autumn/winter. I found the best range on www.tightsplease.co.uk. Jonathon Aston 40 dernier opaque tights are a bargain at £5.99 - considering many tights are now priced at £12 or more! These come in white, pink, mulberry, orange, royal blue, purple, green, powder blue, scarlet, velvet green, hyacinth, candy pink … but to name a few! At the moment the website is offering free delivery and shopping vouchers. And if you buy the november issue of Company, they currently have a 20% off voucher.

Blair takes her style inspiration from Audrey Hepburn, who is also a personal favourite of mine, with shift dresses, tailored skirts, blouses and the infamous Blair hairband. Across the high street, tailored pieces are popular this season with Miss Selfridge and New Look having the best ranges. In fact I have just bought a red shift dress from New Look for £18, which also comes in black and purple. Big bowed hairbands in silver, purple and black can be bought in Internacionale.

According to Eric Damon (Gossip Girl’s stylist), Serena is going through a character change. However she still dress in her usual hotpant and waistcoat attire with her lush, natural wavy blonder hair. Miss Selfridge again have high waisted shorts in dark and light denim for £35.

Vanessa has more of an indie style, choosing to wear lots of bright colours and flowing material. I particually liked her maxi dress in episode 2. Unfortuantely I am not sure a dress like it would be appropriate for our rainy, bitter weather!

Jenny has gone very rock chick in this season. Personally I wouldn’t have been allowed to dress like this when I was 15, but I still love her look. dark smoky eyes, blood red lips, black clothing and fishnet tights. Bourgeois and Mac have a good range of red lipsticks. However if you just want to play about with red, you can get one for a £1 at Asda!

What I like most about Gossip Girl is that every character dresses differently and is therefore able to reflect their own personalities. To me, this is what fashion is about. Tired of seeing clones, wearing the same items from popular stores like Topshop I find myself screaming ‘Where is our individuality?!’

I’m a vegetarian and I like bacon.

And not this crappy, fake bacon. Real bacon.

This may seem utterly weird, a veggie eating meat. So what’s it all about?

I gave up meat six years ago, but have a constant craving for bacon. Becoming vegetarian was natural for me. I never ate much meat, except for chicken and bacon. I hated the taste of most meat, preferring the colourful richness of vegetables.

Something was missing though. My body was calling out for protein. So I eventually caved in. I wanted, needed even, bacon, smothered in ketchup in a floury bap.

And that’s what I ate, with fried mushrooms! With protests from my vegetarian mother of how I would be sick from one mouthful.

I’ll admit: I was a bit nervous. Yet faced with my task, I was surprised at how easy it was. And how much I enjoyed every explosion of flavours with each mouthful! Now, when can I have my next one?

I wish I had … the lifestyle of Cheryl Cole

From being named the nation’s favourite sweetheart to being fancied by 90% of the male population, it would be amazing to be Cheryl Cole for a day.

Performing in front of thousands with big acts like Will.i.am or the rest of Girl’s Aloud would be fantastic, especially as my usual place is a member of the cat’s choir.

For those of us not blessed with superstar confidence, being pampered 24/7 would certainly make me feel like a million dollars. Lavished with beauty products? Yes, please! Given the hottest designer clothes? Yes, please!

But with every celebrity success story there is a downside. Nagging on TV from Simon Cowell? No, thanks. A cheating husband? No, thank you.

Maybe not then. When it comes down to it, I prefer my own simple, private life!